Gynandromorph Chicken

[Illia]

I think someone's mentioned this before, but I'm not surprised it did lay an egg - The brown coloring it carries on the left is female, the black coloring in the right is also quite likely female.

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
What coloring would be male then? It definitely has male hackle feathers and some saddle feathers. I think if it were a mosaic, there would not be such a drastic division between the halves. This can only happen when something goes wrong in the first few days. Mosaics happen later on and look like patchwork. You would not see a line dividing the bird in half.

 

[Vcomb]

Quote:
in gamefowl they call birds with multiple leg colors "sotas". I've seen one with a green leg and a yellow leg, one with a blue and a white leg. Also seen yellow legs with green spot on both shanks or one even had green legs with yellow toes.

 

[PortugalBreeder]

WOW again

 

[cluckcluck42]

Very cool. This is one of the most interesting threads I have read on here! It must be fertile if it's laying eggs... didn't expect that news when I started reading this thread.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Such an interesting thread! Gyandromorphs are really fascinating to me. I'd love to know what causes them, if it impacts their overall lifespan, and if it incurs health problems. Let us know what the scientists conclude! Man, biology is fascinating. Also curious about the fertility of the egg. Subscribing to this topic to see what happens!

Yay Chicks! :

I've been reading this thread because it is just so interesting. But I have to comment on your last pictures because I just have never seen a 10 year old chicken (then again I'm pretty new to the world of chickens). I'm impressed, but then again, you have quite a few interesting birds!

I have three twelve year old chickens, and a few ten year olds. They don't look or behave different from my younger chickens really. If one had to point them out in my flock, they'd have trouble figuring out which ones were the old ones, if they could figure it out at all. They're still very active and two of the three are still healthy. (The third can no longer keep on weight even though she eats well. I figure she has a few months to a year left, we'll see. She still has good energy levels and eats well, though.) I've heard rumors of chickens living to be twenty-five, and I don't doubt it happens on rare occasions. Most of my standard birds tend to live 6-10 years, and my bantams 10-15(+? I've only been keeping birds for twelve years, we'll see how long my twelve year old girls keep going).​

 

[tadkerson]

Quote:
Yes and no. This is a collaboration between myself and the biologists at the University of Edinburgh. These birds are female on one side and male on the other. It has been proven that in birds, every single cell in their body is either male or female, unlike mammals where sexual characteristic are dependent on hormones.

Paul,

Normally every somatic cell (body cell) in a mammal is genetically male or female; this excludes sex cells. The xx chromosomes and xy chromosomes determine the primary sex characteristics (genetalia) found in a mammal. It is the secondary sex characteristics that are determined by sex hormones. The same is true in the chickens somatic cells; female cells are normally genetically ZW and male cells are ZZ. In chickens, the presence of female hormones cause female feathering and the lack of female hormones cause male feathering.

Your bird appears to be 100% female. It does not have male feathering on one side and female feathering on the other. If the female layed an egg that means it has a functional overy ( normally chickens have only a functional left ovary) which would prevent the male feathering on one side. You would have to analyze ( do a karyotype) the chromosomes on both sides to detemine if one side is male an the other is female.


Tim

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
Yes and no. This is a collaboration between myself and the biologists at the University of Edinburgh. These birds are female on one side and male on the other. It has been proven that in birds, every single cell in their body is either male or female, unlike mammals where sexual characteristic are dependent on hormones.

Paul,

Normally every somatic cell (body cell) in a mammal is genetically male or female; this excludes sex cells. The xx chromosomes and xy chromosomes determine the primary sex characteristics (genetalia) found in a mammal. It is the secondary sex characteristics that are determined by sex hormones. The same is true in the chickens somatic cells; female cells are normally genetically ZW and male cells are ZZ. In chickens, the presence of female hormones cause female feathering and the lack of female hormones cause male feathering.

Your bird appears to be 100% female. It does not have male feathering on one side and female feathering on the other. If the female layed an egg that means it has a functional overy ( normally chickens have only a functional left ovary) which would prevent the male feathering on one side. You would have to analyze ( do a karyotype) the chromosomes on both sides to detemine if one side is male an the other is female.


Tim

Tim, thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. This is all new to me and I am still learning. The photos were taken last October when the bird was three months old. This was before before it had molted to its adult plumage and matured sexually. I think your theory that it is a gynandromorph with a functional ovary is correct since its comb reddened up when it was just 3-4 weeks old. It looked and acted more like a cockerel, with a large bright red comb, until about a month ago. there are no recorded examples of the changes that occur during the development from a young bird to an adult. These birds may go through a number of changes although few have functioning ovaries. It is only 4-1/2 months old.

 

[Redcatcher]

You can see how red and enlarged the comb is at 3-4 weeks of age. I have never seen a pullet with a comb like that at such an early age. It has a pea comb besides which remains relatively small.

 

[PortugalBreeder]

Look at the one in the right, seems Gynandromorph?